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Criterion
A paper-based illustration representing arc42 with its core stages and visible working result.
Architecture
arc42
A hypothetical failure makes concrete risks, signals, and fitting mitigations visible.
Decision Making
Pre-Mortem
Paper illustration for Fake Door Test
Product Discovery
Fake Door Test
Paper illustration of an assumption matrix with prioritized test cards
Decision Making
Assumption Surfacing
Purposedifferent
arc42 structures architecture knowledge so teams can document system, decisions, and risks consistently. The template builds a living understanding of the architecture instead of scattered notes.In early initiatives with many uncertainties, planning quickly turns too optimistic. A pre-mortem makes the expected failure visible in advance and sharpens the view of causes, gaps, and countermeasures.When demand is still unclear, it measures interest in a feature before it is built. It separates real behavior from polite agreement and deliberately keeps build effort small.Plans often contain assumptions that were never openly stated and remain dangerous precisely because of that. Assumption Surfacing makes these silent premises visible and prioritizes which of them carry the initiative or could sink it.
Complexitydifferent
LowLowMediumLow
Timedifferent
1-2 Tage20–45 min1-5 Tage45-90 min
Participantsdifferent
1-4Small cross-functional groupNutzertraffic2-8
Formatdifferent
Workshop + asyncWorkshopAsyncWorkshop + async
Outputdifferent
Architecture Document, Context View, Runtime View, Deployment ViewRisk list, Mitigation plan, Assumption logClick Data, Interest Signal, Learning DecisionAssumption List, Critical Assumptions, Learning Plan
Tagsno overlap
ArchitectureDocumentationCommunication
RiskDecisionFailurePlanning
ValidationExperimentsDemandDiscovery
AssumptionsRiskDecisionDiscovery
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